Branches
by Iona Nineve
Summary: Henry reveals a Morgan family secret. This leads Abe to some elicit investigation, the results of which are surprising. Lots of flashbacks.


**Disclaimer: I own no recognizable characters from Forever.**

**Author's Note: I'm sorry if it gets a little confusing, it sorta took on a life of its own. As always I welcome all thoughts or opinions. Enjoy!**

Branches

Henry watched from the kitchen door as Abe continued his fervent work in tracking down his family. "Any new developments?"

"Yeah! I found cousins, first cousins. They escaped with their parents into Switzerland and then moved to Michigan. There's eight of them. Imagine that, seven siblings!" Abe said in giddy awe. Henry's thoughts turned to one of the few secrets he had never told Abe, and contemplated whether it was wise to tell him.

"I'm glad for you. Are you going to contact them?"

"Of course! They might have information about my parents." Henry knew he should be happy that Abe was exploring his past, but he couldn't help taking it personally.

"Well, good luck. I'm going to bed."

"Night, Henry."

"Don't stay up too late." Henry warned before disappearing up the stairs. Laying in his bed, unable to sleep and staring up at the ceiling, his mind ran. He had often wondered how different it would have been if he and Abigail had had a child of their own. The fact of the matter was that they had at one time come close to finding out. In truth, Abe had almost been an older brother. He had only been ten at the time and neither wanted the task of explaining it all to him, later neither of them had the heart to tell him and so the secret had been kept. It was there in that dark bedroom that he again considered telling Abe, and then that he decided.

The next morning, before the shop opened, Henry caught Abe. "Why don't we go for a walk?"

"But the shop?"

"It can wait."

"Ok." He agreed to the suggestion, confused by the offer. It had been a long time since their last walk. He returned the sign to show 'closed' and opened the door, from which a brisk breeze entered.

With a stern look at his son, he commanded, "Coat!" Abe's reply was a heavenward eye roll as he turned to get his coat from the closet. When he came back to the door Henry was already wearing a coat, with scarf as usual.

The pair walked a while in companionable silence, with no seeming destination in mind but Abe allowed Henry to steer the journey. "So, what's this about? You've already told me the facts of life."

Henry smiled at the memory of that particular extremely awkward walk. Then looked around him as though he had timed each event in regard to their location. "Did you ever want siblings, Abe?"

He paused in his steps then continued, having been momentarily caught off guard by the question. "And have to share you and mom with a bunch of brats? Of course, I did! Every only-child does at one time or another." He replied. "Why? A little late now, don't you think?" Henry flipped up his collar concealing most of his face. Abe looked around to see where they were. They stood outside the New York hospital that his parents had worked during most of their years as a family. "Henry, I don't think there's any doctors left from the 50's and 60's to recognize you."

Ignoring Abe's observation, Henry continued to walk to an open gate encircling the small hospital cemetery. "There's something I want you to see." He said, motioning him in.

"In a cemetery?" He asked, bemused. But when he looked into Henry's face he saw it had grown melancholy. "Ok." He entered and followed Henry until he stopped next to an old rose bush, now leafless in the midst of winter.

"We never told you, your mother and I. But..." Henry drifted off, he had planned this the night before but now the words failed him. So he gestured Abe toward the small stone behind the bush.

Crouching down to lean close, and wiping the snow from the surface, Abe read the inscription.

Anna Mae Morgan

November 17, 1955

Abe looked up at his father amazement in his face. "I had a baby sister?" Henry nodded. "So you and mom...?"

"We found out shortly after our honeymoon, the month you spent with your grandparents. I was as overjoyed as Abigail at the news." Abe recalled the months after their return while his parents had been particularly happy. "We didn't tell you right away, we were going to wait until it was certain, pregnancy tests were not terribly accurate at the time."

"There's only one date." Abe stated, his question a silent one, as he looked at the stone.

"Do you remember how sick she was the week or two around Thanksgiving, you were ten." Abe nodded. "She wasn't sick. It was a miscarriage, it happened while we were working at the hospital. We buried little Anna Mae here. Abigail was distraught for weeks afterward." He finished, purposely leaving his own feelings out of the conversation. "We should be going home, you'll catch cold if we stay much longer." They left the cemetery and continuing home in contemplative silence, Henry found his mind full of the memory of that day.

_1955_

_Abigail lay on the bed, the other nurses had brought her to this room when she had collapsed in pain and he had been summoned. There was blood, so much blood. While Abigail lay, her physical pain replaced now with a personal internal pain, Henry held the tiny body of their lost daughter, gently wrapping her delicate form. They had already given her a name, and it was with it that he addressed the bundle. "Anna Mae, we love you very much."_

Back at the shop Abe continued the conversation. "You named her?"

"Yes. We'd already chosen names by then. The day that we found out we spent the night discussing names. She was adamant in using names from my side of the family. Although she refused to even consider my brother's name."

"What was it?"

"Mortimer." Abe couldn't hold in the snort of amusement. "He died during the War of 1812, in Washington DC. If the baby were a boy his name would've been James Rupert. James after a dear friend of mine in the early 1900's, and Rupert after Abigail's father."

"Where did you get Anna Mae?"

"Anna was the name of my little sister. And Mae oddly enough was the name of both our mothers."

"How 'cum I don't have a middle name?"

"You do, its Percival."

"I could have lived without knowing that."

"You asked." Henry replied shrugging.

Abe pouted for a moment, before a thought lit up his face. "You had a sister, who knows how many relatives you have walking around. We could look for them."

"No, Abraham. Anna married into an Oxfordshire family. She had five beautiful children: Albert, Radcliffe, Julietta, Margot, and Walter."

"What was their last name?"

Seeing through his attempt, Henry gave him an annoyed look. "No."

"Why not? You say that you don't have family, beside me of course, but you could have a huge family. Why not look for them?"

"Why not? I can imagine the reunion now. I introduce myself as their immortal great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-uncle and they just welcome me with open arms? More likely I'll be locked up again." He said an exasperated sarcasm in his voice, then sobered as he continued. "That's not my family anymore, Abraham. I left that family behind me at my sister's death bed." He lost himself in reverie.

_1854_

_He entered the room, introducing himself as a family friend; and passed among the throng of his now grown nieces and nephews, desperately hoping that the memory of their mad uncle was hazy at best, toward the bed which they surrounded. Upon the cushions and under the quilts lay the frail figure of the aged matriarch, Anna Westington. With the strength left to her she addressed each of her children, as well as the older grandchildren. When she had finished this task she sank back upon the pillows and looked at her gathered family, it was then that her gaze fell upon him. She reached a thin elegant hand toward him. He took it in both of his and knelt beside her. "Have you come to take me onward, Henry?" She asked weakly, believing him a guiding phantom of some sort._

_"Something like that." He answered, smiling at the faith of his sainted sister. "One last bit of wisdom for your handsome family, my dear Anna?" He prompted, feeling her strength quickly leaving her._

_She nodded and those present came in closer to hear her softly spoken words. "Love is the greatest gift God gave man, treasure it." At her words, husbands and wives drew closer bringing their children near of them as well. Finishing her message she relaxed against the pillows once more, her strength once again diminished. It was but another minute before with a peaceful sigh she left this world._

_"May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest." Henry whispered as he took the hand which he still held and began to cross her hands upon her breast. This task complete he rose and departed, leaving the rest to ponder his identity. Of the three siblings, she was the only one to die a good peaceful death surrounded by loving family._

He looked at his pocket watch. "I have to go." Grabbing his coat and scarf he looked back at Abe. "And I absolutely forbid you from investigating this further."

As soon as Henry left Abe went to work. Explicitly disobeying his father's wishes, he began a search for Henry's family, with a greater fervor for the sake of defying orders. Beginning with Mortimer Morgan he followed the sibling chain to find Anna's family. Hours later, after darkness had fallen over New York, Henry returned. At the sound of the door opening, Abe grabbed some of the more interesting reveals off the boards dedicated to this project and put them in his pocket. Meeting Henry at the door he immediately launched into the conversation.

"You've got to come see what I've found today!"

"Good afternoon to you too, Abraham." He said slightly amused at Abe's excitement, as he allowed himself to be led. "Did you find another cousin?"

"Not exactly. But it's way better!"

Understanding, Henry stopped in his tracks, and looked sternly at his son. "Abraham, I expressly forbade-"

"I know. I know. But it's done, so you might as well see." Relenting, Henry was brought in front of the bulletin boards. "Since you wouldn't tell me the family your sister married into, I had to find it through your brother. Who, as you said, died in DC during the War of 1812; what you didn't tell me was that he died burning down the White House." He explained, accentuating the final few words.

"I didn't know that. When he died I was trying to get back to England after the ship incident, I found out that he had died from Nora upon my return, details were lost."

"So I found your sister, Anna Westington, and her five children."

"She was the only one of us to have any children; the Morgan family tree took quite a chopping in our generation, in fact the Morgan name died out."

"That's where you're wrong!" He exclaimed, pointing excitedly to Henry. Under Henry and Nora's names at the top of the tree he repinned a note with 'Henry Jr.' written on it. "You had a son!"

Letting out a short breath of disbelief, Henry sat down stunned. "No, I didn't. How could I?"

"Well apparently Nora was very happy to have you back. He was born eight months after you were sent to the asylum, so it lines up. He became a doctor, probably having to do with his father who went crazy while helping people."

"A son." He sighed, still barely able to believe it. A face filtered through the years of history. "I think I may have met him."

_1842_

_Henry arrived at the house he had been dragged away from twenty-eight years before. He knocked on the door and it was answered by a tired looking younger man of nearly thirty. "May I help you?"_

_"I'm here to see Nora Morgan, she and my mother were old friends."_

_"Oh, come in I'm sure she'd pleased to see you. She hasn't had very many visitors; very little family you see." As they entered the bedroom, he saw the frail sickly form of his former wife. Noticing the concern with which he looked at her, the other man continued. "She's been getting worse of late. I don't think it will be long nw."_

_"Are you a doctor?" Henry asked, considering the man's professional tone, his own grief blocking any registry of the other's restrained emotions._

_"Yes."_

_"How long would you say?"_

_"She won't last the day. Pneumonia. She spent all evening out at that blasted grave!"_

_"Henry?" Nora's weakly quavering voice whispered through the silence. Both men responded and went immediately to her side, one on each side. Her gaze turned first to Henry. "Henry, is it truly you?"_

_"Yes." He whispered back to her, taking up one of her clammy hand._

_"So it was true. I'm sorry, so very darling. I'd vow to trust you."_

_"Hush. It's alright."_

_She turned to her other side where her other hand was held by the young man. "My dearest boy, I'm so very proud of you. You are the man I always wished you to be. Your father I'm sure would be just as proud."_

_The man addressed touched her cold hand to his lips. "Thank you."_

_"Your... father... Your father..." She gasped through heaving coughs which overtook her. In another violent exhalation she released her last breath. Bowing his head to rest atop the quilts for a moment the man then rose to his feet, his appearance professionally stoic._

_"It would that Henry is a common name. I'm afraid, however, I didn't catch yours."_

_"Mortimer, Henry Mortimer." He offered with his hand, his own mask expertly replaced._

_"I'm glad you came. There should be more than one person at the end."_

_'"I agree." With that, Henry left the house for the last time, nothing remained there for him to ever return to._

"Where? When?"

"When Nora passed. I wonder I didn't see it at the time. What happened to him?"

"Well..." Abe hesitated before answering. "He died serving as a doctor in the Crimean War, he never married." Abe hated to say it, Henry had perked up so at hearing it and his face fell slightly at the news of his death.

"A noble death." He said in acknowledgement of the son he had never known. "But I see Anna's branches are full. What are all those empty spots?"

"These are interesting. Descended from Radcliffe was a woman named Diane, she and her husband, Martin Hampton, were on board the Titanic with their son, William." Abe said, replacing the named cards as he introduced their names.

_1912_

_"You're a doctor aren't you?" A desperate looking man asked him, as he held tightly to his nearly worried wife who clung tightly to a small boy._

_"Yes."_

_"Please, Sir, take my wife and son up to the deck. You might be able to get them up."_

_"No, Marty! Come with us, you must!" She cried, falling into hysterics._

_"Diane, you must. Think of Willie, not of me."_

_"I love you." She cried._

_"I love you too." He kissed his wife, painfully aware of his being their final goodbye. "Take them, Doctor." He handed the pair to the doctor who led them up the levels to the deck, keeping the woman and toddler close as not to lose them in the crowd. He brought them to the edge where a lifeboat was being filled. He made certainly the pair was safely deposited in the boat before returning to the steerage deck. Later he would again see the man, they were near each other when the highest point they could reach filled with water._

"He didn't make it, but they did." He stated.

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Besides the fact that the tree goes on, I put them in a lifeboat myself and was with him when he drowned." Abe smiled as he heard his father's words, to Henry the smile seemed suspicious. "And the next one?" Despite his earlier disapproval he found himself rather intrigued.

"This one came as a surprise to me, really." Abe placed a card in the tree descending from Margot bearing the name of Dr. James Carter.

"James? No. Are you quite sure?"

"Yeah. I even check him out in more detail to see if it was, you know, the James."

"What are the odds?" Henry sighed, sagging in his seated position.

"I would say better than the odds on this one being a coincidence." Abe answered, pointing to an empty at the end of one of the lines beginning from Albert. Having taken a moment for added effect, he placed three cards before moving aside to reveal them. The three cards read: Abigail, Henry, and Abraham.

Shocked so by this newest revelation that he would have sat, were he not already doing so, so he stood instead. "Abigail too? This is all simply too incredible." A moment's silence. "But of course, Oxfordshire." He thought aloud, sinking back to his seat.

_1945_

_"So Doctor Henry Morgan, what part of dear old England does the Morgan family call home?" Abigail asked as the pair took a walk by moonlight along the edge of a river._

_"The countryside of Essex. And you Nurse Abigail Caster, where do you hail from?"_

_"We have a farm in Oxfordshire. Been in my mum's family for ages. The original name I think was the Westington Estate."_

_"Oh.. An estate?" He said jokingly, in his stuffiest of tones._

_"Come off it, Henry, every old house in England was called an estate at some point." When she finished she pushed him. The unexpected force of which propelled him into the river with a startled shout. "Oh God, I'm sorry. Let me help you out." She said leaning toward his bobbing head and offering a hand. He accepted the hand, but far from letting her help him out he helped her in. "Henry!" Both of them now in the water they laughed._

He smiled at the memory. "What else?" He rose again to approach the boards. "What I wonder became of little, silent Walter?" He followed the lines branching from the youngest's name. Reaching the area equal to where Abigail's name had appeared he let out a guffaw of amusement. "'And the last shall be first'." He quoted, pointing to the name Gloria Carlyle.

"That's a real wealthy family isn't it?"

"Immensely so." Henry confirmed. "And oddly enough the woman who pushed me to finally propose to your mother."

"That just made this whole thing even more strange."

"It's indeed extremely odd, I'll give you that." He agreed, looking the boards over.

"And the whipped cream on top." Abe said placing one more card at the end of the line originating with Julietta. The name upon it was that of Jo Martinez.

"Jo, too?" His tone more of bemusement than surprise.

"Don't you see, Henry? Every one of your nieces and nephews contributed at least one person to your life. You're wrong, you didn't leave that family behind you. It's still your family, it never left you even after you left it."


End file.
